Saturday, February 18, 2012

Bloggers Block

Hey there. Ever heard of bloggers block? I just made it up...or if I didn't, someone else had the same clever idea before I did. At any rate, it's that horrendous moment when you know you have to blog, but you can't come up with a single idea. I had that a few moments ago. But just as with writer's block, there are ways to deal with it that do not include giving up.

I actually found an article on ways to get ideas for blogs about your topic...whatever it may be. I won't share all of them, just the ones that made me say, "Ah ha! I can do that."

* Visit forums related to your niche. Spend 30 minutes a day in forums related to your niche. Write down common questions or inquiries and use those to craft articles.

* Visit the Q&A sites like Yahoo Answers. If one person has asked the question, chances are there are many more who have it but are afraid to ask. Answer the most common questions you see with a new article.

* Check the news. Being on top of the industry news will help you be able to write related articles as the news events take place. This can also be a great way to grab expanded exposure. By piggy backing off the hot topic you can grab way more readers then you would with a normal topic. And not just the big news stations either. Some of the smaller more local stations may have topics not covered by the larger ones and can be a potential goldmine for ideas.

* Set up a Google alert for your topic. This way you’ll be emailed however frequently you choose, with up to date blogs and posts and new stories related to your topic that you can get and gain ideas from.

* Spend 30 minutes brainstorming. Do not allow yourself to focus on anything but your topic. This will get easier the more times you do it. It can be difficult the first few times to get your mind to actually produce something, but once you’ve done it a few times your mind will know you mean business and will help you populate ideas quite quickly.

---Now, in all seriousness, I don't like blogging when it's just another commercial for my books. I don't like promo in general, but it's a necessary evil. The trick is to find promotion you enjoy doing. I finally came up with an idea for a regular blog that I'm having a ball with! I'm not mentioning my books at all. I'm simply showcasing my off the wall sense of humor.

You really must check it out! And if you enjoy it, please follow. I'll feel like less of a loser if I can get over half a dozen followers. http://ashlyn-chase.blogspot.com/
Oh...and by the way, please buy my books. (There. I snuck it in. Subtle, wasn't it?)